Rudolf
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(born Aug. 21, 1858, Schloss Laxenburg, near Vienna, Austriadied Jan. 30, 1889, Schloss Mayerling, near Vienna) Archduke and crown prince of Austria. The son of Emperor Francis Joseph, he received a broad education and traveled widely. As heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, he hoped to bring reform to the empire, but his liberal views alienated his father, and he was excluded from the business of government. From 1881 he considered having himself crowned king of Hungary and reviving a kingdom of Poland. He then became despondent and allegedly formed a suicide pact with his mistress, Maria Vetsera; the two were found shot dead in the hunting lodge at Mayerling. Efforts to disguise the facts provoked many rumours, while romantic writers found inspiration in the story.
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Rudolf, 1858-89, Austrian archduke, crown prince of Austria and Hungary; only son of Emperor Francis Joseph and Empress Elizabeth. Upon his mysterious death at Mayerling near Vienna (officially declared a double suicide with his mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera), his cousin Francis Ferdinand became heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
American Heritage Dictionary:
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Ru·dolf
, 1858-1889.Austrian crown prince. The controversially liberal heir to Francis Joseph I, he was found dead with his mistress in Mayerling, his hunting lodge near Vienna. Officially deemed a double suicide, the suspicious event was never fully investigated.
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